Page 155

“Your arm…” Orpheus whispered through his tears, hand shaking in Fenrir’s. “What happened?”

“There’s so much to explain.” And Fenrir didn’t have to tell Orpheus there was no time to do it, not when Sanctuary still screamed, the dust rising from the western wall billowing into fresh coifs. Another cry joined the others, a bellow of enraged pain that cut through the screams, and then a shadow rose—too tall to be a man, even if that was what it resembled.

Fenrir watched it through narrowed eyes, the grip on Orpheus’ hand twitching. “Fuck, that thing really can’t die, can it?”

“The Netherflame is healing it.” The sack of flesh that once hung off the Prometheus’ desiccated body tightened over a layer of muscle that hadn’t existed before, the holes where its eyes had been glimmering with a wet black ichor that bubbled fresh down its cheeks. And in the voids where its missing teeth had gaped, fresh bone materialized, bleached white against the dusty ruins—gnashing with a hunger that Hell’s fire had barely begun to sate.

One bony hand swept down, and a handful of screams cut off, the wiggling mass the Prometheus brought to its mouth staining its skin red with blood. And framed by it all, Atticus stood, staring up at the Prometheus as if he might walk straight into its clutches himself.

“That him?” Fenrir asked. “Atticus?” Orpheus’ silence must have been answer enough, because Fenrir called out. “Hey, you! Atticus!”

Slowly, Atticus turned around.

“If I distract that thing, can you get everyone to safety?”

“Fenrir—wait—I don’t—”

“I came here to help, Orpheus.” And the way he said it spiked ice colder than Netherflame through Orpheus’ veins. Orpheus wasn’t prepared when Fenrir’s hand slipped from his. “Can you stand?”

Orpheus swayed on his feet for reasons that had nothing to do with his bad leg when Fenrir pulled away.

“Fenrir—Atticus isn’t—”

His weight tipped at the exact moment a different hand slid into his. Soft where Fenrir’s had been hard. Shaking, where his had been firm. Orpheus blinked down at where Gwen stood pressed alongside him, Soot’s smoky tail curling around their wrists.

“I don’t know where your cane went,” she said, as if that, rather than the broken city around them, was the real tragedy.

Orpheus grimaced, wiping at his drying tears. “Gwen...”

“So that’s him, huh?” Gwen peered through her hair at Fenrir. “Your big hero?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Fenrir said, voice warming. “I’m Fenrir.”

“Well, I’m Gwen,” Gwen replied with a sniff, pressing closer to Orpheus, “Fifi’s apprentice.”

The grin that broke across Fenrir’s face felt like home. “Fifi, huh?” Their eyes met and Fenrir lifted an eyebrow, questions left unspoken—not that the answers weren’t obvious. Particularly when Fenrir said, “You must be her, the girl from the fairgrounds. Astrid and Roland told me all about you.”

“They did?” Gwen squeaked, eyes widening. “Are they—they’re not—oh no—”

“They’re okay, I promise. But Gwen, will he listen to you? Atticus?”

Mouth pursed, Gwen looked past Fenrir to where Atticus stood, mist roiling around his ankles, the chasm before him throwing up a strange violet un-light. The rage from before had been replaced by something quieter, a kind of calm before the storm Orpheus knew better than to underestimate. But when Atticus’ eyes broke from Fenrir to snag on Gwen, he didn’t miss how they softened, or how, for one brief second, his shoulders fell.

Neither did Gwen. “I think so.”

“Orpheus and I are going to distract the Prometheus, and I need Atticus to get his people to safety while we do that, okay?”

“Okay,” Gwen breathed, clinging to Orpheus’ hand. “I think he’ll do that.”

“Good.” Fenrir turned back to Orpheus. “Can we kill this thing?”

Orpheus swallowed. “Our best bet is to send it back to Hell.”

“Okay. Then we have to close the chasm, we can’t risk it being left open for much longer.”

Orpheus’ chest went tight, his throat sour. “Fenrir—”

“Rawkner! Fucking timing!” From the misty churn of dust two familiar figures appeared, both soot-stained and bloodied, one with a dirty bandage still covering her eye.